A Madurai court has sentenced nine policemen to death in the custodial deaths of a father and son in Tamil Nadu. The court described it as a serious case of abuse of power and inhuman torture.

A court in Madurai has delivered a significant verdict in the custodial deaths of a father and son in Tamil Nadu. Nine policemen found guilty in the case were sentenced to death. Among those convicted was Police Inspector Sridhar, who was also fined ₹1.5 million. The court noted that of the 10 policemen charged, all nine survivors were recently convicted. In the verdict, the court stated that the father and son were stripped naked and brutally beaten out of revenge, and that the account of the case was "heart-wrenching."

An example of abuse of power, a family destroyed

The court also remarked that without the bench's oversight, the truth would have been suppressed. According to the court, this is a case that devastated an entire family and is a clear example of abuse of power. The court stated that those who receive salaries from public funds cannot use stress as an excuse for their actions. The court also noted that CCTV footage was presented in this case, which is not typically the case in such cases. The judgment also stated that Tamil Nadu has many honest police officers, but life imprisonment in such cases will not instill fear in the police.

What is the case in which the court's decision came?

According to media reports, this case is from Sathankulam in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi district, where father P. Jeyaraj and his son Bennicks died in 2020 after being tortured in police custody. On June 19, 2020, police took Jeyaraj from his son's mobile shop to the police station, claiming the shop had opened after the COVID-19 curfew. When Bennicks arrived at the police station and demanded his father's release, the police verbally abused Jeyaraj in front of him, leading to a dispute.

Subsequently, the police brutally beat and tortured both father and son at the police station throughout the night. The next day, they were remanded to judicial custody without medical treatment and placed in the Kovilpatti sub-jail. Their condition continued to deteriorate during their detention. Bennicks died in a government hospital on June 22, 2020, while his father, Jeyaraj, also succumbed a day later on June 23. Following the deaths, two FIRs were registered in the case. The investigation was initially handed over to the CB-CID and later transferred to the CBI. One of the accused police officers, SSI Pauldurai, died of COVID-19 in August 2020. The CBI filed a charge sheet against the remaining nine policemen.